21/04/2022 Rob Walter

8 Best Vegetables To Grow In April

With spring in full swing - April is a great time of year to grow vegetables!

From early potatoes, strawberry plants, lettuce seeds, and even pot-grown fruit trees, most regions across the UK are experiencing the first taste of mild weather after a chilly winter season. Therefore these are all ready to plant outdoors in your vegetable garden.

You could even get away with sowing tomato seeds as late as April and broad beans up until early May -but it's probably your last chance to do so!

Whether you have a heated greenhouse, sow indoors, or well-prepared soil in your allotment, April is a great month to grow plenty of crops ready for harvest!

7 Of The Easiest Veg To Grow In April 

Growing your vegetables, no matter the time of year, requires a level of planning if you want to get the most out of them. This means that you need to learn how long it takes everything to grow so that you can spread out your harvest accordingly. 

As you can see, a radish, for example, takes less than half the time to grow as a leek would. That means that simply planting everything at the same time won't yield crops at the same time. 

Beetroot

Beetroots are a wonderfully healthy vegetable packed with essential vitamins and minerals and are a great source of fibre like most other vegetables. Roasting them, pickling them, or even juicing them can present you with some fantastic, healthy recipes. They're also pretty simple to grow.

• Sow in rich soil with good drainage
• Water them roughly every fortnight 
• Harvest early for a sweeter taste

Carrots

A favourite for gardens and allotments alike, carrots are particularly hardy vegetables and very easy to grow. There are a few different varieties, and you could grow a few of these in a raised bed, spacing them out into rows.

• Choose light sandy soil if possible to allow for better growth
• Plant in early springtime and keep the soil moist
• Cover your raised beds with insect netting to reduce the risk of pest damage

KohlRabi

If you're looking for something slightly more unusual to grow in your garden, this northern European vegetable literally translates from German as cabbage-turnip. They have a fantastic taste and are very straightforward to grow in both the spring and autumn.

• Sow once the soil is at about 7°C 
• Plant in rows and space seeds 2 inches from each other
• Mulch soil to keep it moist

Radishes

These vegetables are perfect for speedy growth, providing you with an abundance of crops every month during the summertime. Starting in April, you can plant your radishes in small batches every few weeks to maintain a continuous yet small harvest.

• Dry soil can damage the vegetable, so keep the soil moist.
• Don't leave them in the ground for too long, or they'll turn hard and unpleasant
• After harvesting, you can replant the leaves with the top of the radish attached

Turnips

These are perfect for growing all year round, and summer turnips should be planted roughly around April. These hardy root vegetables are great for so many recipes, and their green leaves are also a delicacy in some cultures.

• Picking turnips when they're young is best if harvesting them for greens
• Plant them in full sun if possible
• Be prepared to cover with fleece during unexpected frost

Leeks

Leeks are often overlooked vegetables and unfairly so. These vegetables are amazing replacements for onions in summer and winter dishes, providing a sweet, flavoursome onion-like taste. They require a little bit of extra work to grow but are very much worthwhile.

• Use some great quality compost from your own compost bin
• Sow seeds in a seedbed and transplant young leeks into a larger plot in the summer
• Harvest in late summer or leave in the ground and harvest when necessary

Cauliflower

A popular choice and one that is just as suitable to grow in your small garden plot as it is on sprawling farmland, the humble cauliflower is very hardy and easy to grow. In fact, you won't want to grow many at the same time as they will mature very quickly and can take up a fair bit of space.

• Sow in seed trays and transplant seedlings into the ground after the final frost
• Use manure or compost generously before planting for the best results
• Water every 10 days or so and keep the ground moist

Conclusion

It's not overly difficult to get a wealth of amazing crops growing in your own garden. These are some of the nation's favourites, and April is the perfect time to begin growing in preparation for the summertime and even well into the winter. Spend plenty of time researching how to properly care for your crops, and they'll reward you with some very tasty vegetables come harvest time.